Chicago University confirms Tinubu’s attendance, degrees of controversy

The Chicago State University (CSU) has been embroiled in a controversy involving the Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, and his academic records, which have come under intense scrutiny following his election earlier this year.

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President Tinubu’s academic records became a contentious issue in the months leading up to the February election and the authenticity of his university certificate has been questioned by political opponents.

On Thursday, the CSU in a statement allegedly issued to CBS Broadcasting Incorporation, confirmed that President Tinubu attended the university and graduated on June 22nd 1979 with a bachelor’s degree.

The issue regarding Tinubu’s CSU certificate began when the university, following a purported subpoena obtained by counsel to Enahoro-Ebah, issued a new diploma for Bola A. Tinubu, but incorrectly wrote the date of graduation as June 27, 1979 instead of June 22, 1979, alongside alterations in the CSU logo, font on the diploma, and changes in the university’s leadership who signed the diploma.

The Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar, had contended that the documents submitted by Tinubu to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) claiming that he graduated from CSU in 1979 were not authentic and, if proven, could nullify Tinubu’s electoral victory.

Tinubu allegedly presented a diploma from CSU, which he claimed was issued in 1979 and signed by CSU’s President Elnora Daniel, but investigations revealed that President Daniel did not assume her role at CSU until nearly two decades after in 1998.

Abubakar approached a US court for the northern district of Illinois in Chicago, for an order compelling CSU to release the academic records of Tinubu, after the University refused FOI requests to release the information.

The legal counsel representing Abubakar, Alexandre de Gramont, informed the court that the documents and depositions were being sought for use in the Nigerian Supreme Court, where the final legal battle over Tinubu’s election is set to take place.

He argued that the documents would resolve the debate regarding Tinubu’s educational background and aid the election petition tribunal.
Atiku has until September 20 to appeal the Court of Appeal’s decision on the matter.

In response, the University requested the Court to “limit the scope of discovery specifically to pertinent matters,” adding that some of Abubakar’s inquiries were clearly unrelated and excessive in relevance.

The CSU legal representative Michael Hayes, cited Abubakar’s Request No. 5 in the document subpoena which solicits” data regarding diplomas issued by the University over a 44-year period (1979 to the present)”, as well as Topic No. 7 in the deposition subpoena seeking “details about the employment status and reasons for departure of a former employee in the University’s General Counsel’s Office.”

Addressing the court on Wednesday, Hayes said that CSU could neither confirm nor deny the authenticity of Tinubu’s certificate as either fake or genuine.

He stated, “Is the diploma authentic or is it a forgery? My client can’t answer yes to either of those questions.”

The University said Thursday that the difference in the date of Award on the diploma versus the certified copy is likely the result of human error.

“The graduation date on the certified copy is typed in manually by a person and can be inaccurate,” CSU Registrar Caleb Westberg testified.

Nigerians have criticised CSU, acusing the university’s management of being complicit in concealing the true identity of an elusive individual, whose background remains mysterious.

Legal practitioner Bethel Anunihu, said: “The management of Chicago State University is culpable in the plot to hide the true identity of a drug baron whom no one can tell his real age, gender, schools he attended.

“Infact he has no classmates because no one has ever identified him as having attended the same schools or class”.

Political affairs commentator Bright Odigwe, said: “I am not for the case of Tinubu attending Chicago state university, my case is with the certificates with which he was admitted into university of Chicago.

“I think since the university has established that he attended,they should be able to furnish us details of acceptance into it,” he said.
President Tinubu’s legal team had submitted a counter application opposing the release of his academic records, insisting that the discovery application was not relevant and, therefore, not admissible in court.

Tinubu said that the “errors” in his certificate that had become a subject of litigation, were made by the Chicago State University (CSU), which issued two certificates at different occasions.

In a new twist to the case, a public affairs analyst Durojaiye Ogunsanya, has come out to support President Tinubu’s claim of having attended CSU and graduating in 1979.

In a recent interview, Ogunsanya claimed to have graduated alongside Tinubu from CSU’s Department of Accounting and Business Administration in 1979.

He said people who doubted Tinubu’s academic history were misinformed, and he had come forward to set the record straight.

“We were in the same department, class, and college. We met in school at Chicago State University (CSU), and we were in the same department, the College of Accounting, Business Administration, with a major in accounting. We graduated together. He did attend the Chicago State University, and he graduated in 1979, as I did,” Ogunsanya stated.

He added: “We were members of the accounting club in the school…there was a time he became the president of the club. Go and check it out. We were even laughing at him with his accent. He had a Nigerian accent, and because of that, we were laughing at him.”

The fate of President Tinubu’s academic records from Chicago State University remains in the balance as the court is yet to decide on the request for an order compelling CSU to release these records.

Presiding Judge Jeffrey Gilbert has requested additional time for reflection before reaching a decision, but has urged the legal representatives of all parties involved to thoroughly review the records already submitted to the court and make any necessary updates in the interim.

Judge Gilbert assured that a date for a final ruling or potential additional hearing will be communicated to the concerned parties in due course.